Artificial retina in sight at Argonne

ARGONNE, Ill. (Dec. 11, 2002) – Currently there is no cure for the degenerative retinal diseases that have caused hundreds of thousands of Americans to lose their sight. However, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, in collaboration with four other national laboratories, two universities and a private company, are moving one step closer to developing an artificial retina that may restore sight to people who have been blinded by these hereditary diseases.

"The artificial retina is very appealing to scientists because it contributes to improving the way of life for people," said materials scientist, Orlando Auciello, the principal investigator at Argonne. "Having the ability to see is something too many people take for granted."

The research is led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and funded by a new $9 million, four-year grant from the Department of Energy's Office of Biological and Environmental Research. The project was formally announced by U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham on Nov. 25 at the Doheny Eye Institute at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Also involved in the research are a California-based, private company called Second Sight, L.L.C, North Carolina State University in Raleigh and the University of Southern California, and Sandia, Oak Ridge, Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos national laboratories. The goal of the consortium is for the company, universities and laboratories to work together to create an artificial retina that would effectively replace the destroyed rods and cones in the eye as the light receptor and optical signal converter. A tiny camera and radio-frequency transmitter on the patient's glasses capture images and transmit the information to the microchip. The image is then transmitted as electrical pulses to the retina via an array of implanted electrodes. From there, the information is processed and passed along to the brain.

Argonne's role in the project plays a critical part in the success of the electrode implants. Auciello and Argonne materials scientists Dieter M. Gruen and John A. Carlisle are developing a novel application for the patented ultrananocrystalline diamond technology developed at Argonne for the packaging of implantable electronics and as electrode material. This technology is intended to overcome severe size and environmental constrains.

The scientific and technological bases of ultrananocrystalline diamond films were developed by a large group of researchers in the Surface Science group in Argonne's Materials Science Division.

According to Auciello, ultrananocrystalline diamond is a material with a unique combination of properties such as the highest hardness of any diamond film demonstrated today, an extremely low friction coefficient and surface adhesion, very high electron emission, chemical inertness, extremely high conductivity when doped with nitrogen, biocompatibility and surface functionalization. All these properties are the result of the unique microstructure of ultrananocrystalline diamond, characterized by grains that are two to five nanometers in size (a nanometer is about 10,000 times narrower than a human hair).

Artificial retina research began with Mark Humayun at Johns Hopkins University. Later, he teamed with Eli Greenbaum at Oak Ridge National Laboratory when he began working at the Intraocular Retinal Prosthesis Group at Doheny Retina Institute at the University of Southern California. After approaching a number of national laboratories and universities, it was arranged that each institute would work on a different aspect of the artificial retina project.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory manages the project and testing the various technologies developed at each institute. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is studying the use of electrode arrays coated in rubber. Los Alamos National Laboratory is developing optical measuring techniques for neural activity. Sandia National Laboratory is developing electrodes made of silicon, using a microfabrication technique which makes small parts of metal, plastic or ceramics, to produce microelectromechanical systems such as tiny actuators and sensors.

The University of Southern California implants the electrodes and tests their effectiveness. Second Sight may commercially produce the finished devices, and North Carolina State University in Raleigh is leading the development of the in situ medical electronics.

Argonne National Laboratory brings the world's brightest scientists and engineers together to find exciting and creative new solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation's first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America 's scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.

For more information, please contact Steve McGregor (630/252-5580 or media@anl.gov) at Argonne.